On May 14, 2020, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), in cooperation with the Institut Montaigne (France), held an online expert discussion focusing on the approaches of Russia and France to security in the Persian Gulf.
Opening speeches were made by Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and Michel Duclos, advising Institut Montaigne. The participants on the Russian side included: Aleksander Aksenenok, RIAC Vice-President, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia; Nikolay Surkov, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (RAS IMEMO); Julia Roknifard, Assistant Professor in the School of Politics, History and International Relations at the University of Nottingham (Malaysia); and Ruslan Mamedov, RIAC Program Manager. France was represented at the meeting by Ardavan Amir-Aslani, Lawyer at Cohen Amir-Aslani law firm; Bassma Kodmani, Co-Founder of the Arab Reform Initiative; Gurvan Le Bras, Deputy Director at CAPS (Centre for Analysis, Planning and Strategy); and Mahaut de Fougières, Policy officer at Institut Montaigne.
On May 14, 2020, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), in cooperation with the Institut Montaigne (France), held an online expert discussion focusing on the approaches of Russia and France to security in the Persian Gulf.
Opening speeches were made by Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, and Michel Duclos, advising Institut Montaigne. The participants on the Russian side included: Aleksander Aksenenok, RIAC Vice-President, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia; Nikolay Surkov, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (RAS IMEMO); Julia Roknifard, Assistant Professor in the School of Politics, History and International Relations at the University of Nottingham (Malaysia); and Ruslan Mamedov, RIAC Program Manager. France was represented at the meeting by Ardavan Amir-Aslani, Lawyer at Cohen Amir-Aslani law firm; Bassma Kodmani, Co-Founder of the Arab Reform Initiative; Gurvan Le Bras, Deputy Director at CAPS (Centre for Analysis, Planning and Strategy); and Mahaut de Fougières, Policy officer at Institut Montaigne.
Russian and French experts discussed the approaches of the two states to security in the Gulf region and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on regional conflicts. Particular attention was paid to the dynamics of the U.S.-Iran relations and the motives of the two states in implementing their policies in the region. The discussion also touched upon the topics of regional competition, for example, relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel. Russian and French experts assessed the impact of sanctions on the economic environment in the states of the region and the current results and prospects of the INSTEX mechanism.
At the end of the discussion, RIAC and Institut Montaigne representatives summarized the key points, voiced their readiness to continue Russian-French expert dialog, and outlined a number of topics for further cooperation.
